BBC News !
Seven foreign workers have been seized and a security guard shot dead by gunmen who attacked a construction company site in northern Nigeria, officials say.
One of the workers seized was Italian, one was Greek and two others Lebanese.
But UK officials could not confirm a report that another was British.
No-one has admitted the abductions but the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, has staged a series of attacks in northern Nigeria.
A security guard was killed as the attackers targeted the workers' camp at Jama'are in Bauchi state.
Correspondents say it is the biggest kidnapping in northern Nigeria in recent times.
However, there have been a number of smaller incidents in the region, including the kidnapping of a French national, Francis Colump, in the northern state of Katsina.
That abduction was claimed by a second militant group, Ansaru, which emerged in June 2012.
The kidnapping of foreigners and wealthy Nigerians is common in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, in the south of the country, and has become a lucrative trade for criminals.
Oil workers and other foreign nationals are often targeted because companies pay high ransom money to secure their employees' release, correspondents say.
Seven foreign workers have been seized and a security guard shot dead by gunmen who attacked a construction company site in northern Nigeria, officials say.
One of the workers seized was Italian, one was Greek and two others Lebanese.
But UK officials could not confirm a report that another was British.
No-one has admitted the abductions but the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, has staged a series of attacks in northern Nigeria.
A security guard was killed as the attackers targeted the workers' camp at Jama'are in Bauchi state.
Correspondents say it is the biggest kidnapping in northern Nigeria in recent times.
However, there have been a number of smaller incidents in the region, including the kidnapping of a French national, Francis Colump, in the northern state of Katsina.
That abduction was claimed by a second militant group, Ansaru, which emerged in June 2012.
The kidnapping of foreigners and wealthy Nigerians is common in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, in the south of the country, and has become a lucrative trade for criminals.
Oil workers and other foreign nationals are often targeted because companies pay high ransom money to secure their employees' release, correspondents say.
No comments:
Post a Comment